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<title>aem | 1. Introduction</title>

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<h1>1. Introduction</h1>

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<h2>What is aem?</h2>

<p>The aem package provides a mid-level object-oriented wrapper around the low-level Apple Event Manager and NSAppleEventDescriptor APIs. It provides the following services:</p>

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<li>an object-oriented API for constructing Apple Event Object Model queries ("references")</li>
<li>data conversion between common Foundation and AEM types</li>
<li>AEAddressDesc creation</li>
<li>Apple event construction and dispatch.</li>
</ul>

<p>The aem package provides a direct foundation for the high-level appscript package. It can also be used directly by developers and end-users for controlling scriptable applications in situations where appscript is unavailable or unsuitable.</p>

<p class="hilitebox">Note that this documentation is an API reference, not a full user guide. Some familiarity with Apple events and the Apple Event Manager is required in order to understand and use aem.</p>

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